The Afternoon Nap
by Silindro
Summary: Oneshot. Sometimes it takes a simple moment in life to realize how lucky you really are, and how Fate has a funny way of playing to your favor.


The Afternoon Nap

Upon arriving home late Thursday afternoon, Tony Nelson was surprised to walk into an empty house. There was no smell of cooking dinner or hum of a vacuum cleaning the carpet somewhere in another room. There was no music coming from the radio or television left on carelessly in the sitting room.

Most importantly there was no Jeannie popping in to give her master a welcome home greeting or short peck of hello on the lips.

Curious about his missing genie's whereabouts, he called out her name in an attempt to rouse her into showing herself. Having no such luck, he decided to search the more obvious rooms of the house to see if she wasn't getting herself into some type of mischief. Perhaps she hadn't heard him at all.

"Jeannie?" Tony popped his head into the kitchen and looked around, noting the clean countertops and empty sink that usually kept the dirty dishes before he left for work in the mornings.

Walking back in the living room he noticed an open book laying facedown on the couch. He picked it up and examined the cover to see what she had been reading.

"Treasure Island," he read quietly to himself. "I didn't know she was interested in those types of books."

Laying the book back down, he turned toward the hallway and into his bedroom. The sheets had been changed and the bed made perfectly just like always. His closet door was opened, exhibiting his newly cleaned clothes hung on their hangers in perfect order.

There was every sign of the genie except the genie herself. This puzzled Tony even more, and he left his bedroom becoming a bit concerned.

"Jeannie?"

Tony walked back into the living room and took another good look around. It wasn't until then that he noticed the sliding door that led to the back patio was slightly ajar. His suspicions raised, he followed his instincts outside.

"Jea-"Tony stopped in his tracks, awestruck at the stunning scene of beauty before him.

Stretched out in the grass under a tree was Jeannie, asleep in the afternoon sun. Her head rested on a small pink pillow that was not unlike the ones she kept inside of her bottle, and her arms were stretched out above her head.

Tony had never seen a more appealing sight in all of his life.

Walking over and kneeling down beside her, Tony took a few moments to study her face as she slept. She looked so peaceful and without worry when she was sleeping. He had never taken the time to stop and appreciate her beauty that much before, but here it was evident just how innocent and pure she really was.

Two thousand years in a bottle and she had no bitter resentment towards the world. That took a strong will. And the fact that he was the one to release her made him feel like the luckiest man in the world. Just the thought of all the events in his life that lead up to him landing on that exact beach was overwhelming.

Turning his thoughts to the girl laying on the grass beside him, he wondered why fate decided to choose him of all people.

With the thoughts of fate and happenstance in his head, Tony looked down and traced with his eyes the line of his Jeannie's jaw. He took in the sun kissed pink on her cheeks. Her mouth was slightly slack and he could hear the soft breath coming from between her lips. Touching her forehead, he pushed the bangs away from her eyes.

Feeling something touching her face, Jeannie opened her eyes and squinted into the sunlight that was peaking through the leaves of the tree.

"Master?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

Tony smiled and took his hand from her forehead, favoring her stomach instead. His fingers rubbed the bare skin there in languid little circles.

"Why are you asleep out here?"

Grinning sheepishly at Tony, she replied softly, "It was such a beautiful day outside."

"Understandably so, but you'd better get inside before someone sees you!"

"Yes, Master."

Jeannie blinked herself back inside, leaving Tony alone in the backyard with his genie's pink pillow laying at his feet. He looked around once again to make sure they weren't being spied on. No neighbors were in sight, as were no passers-by.

Standing up, he took another good look around and realized that something about his surrounding wasn't right. Something about the grass and the tree and...

"Jeannie, we aren't supposed to have a backyard!"

"That is of no concern, Master," came the reply from inside. Jeannie stepped into the doorway and said, "The neighbors will never know it is there!"

"Why is that?" he said, the worry evident in his voice.

"I sent them to Tahiti hours ago!"

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A/N: Overall I was really pleased with how this turned out in the end. At first I was worried because I didn't think I would have enough text, but here it is, and I hope you enjoyed.

It's a fanfiction sin to read without reviewing.


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